Bush criticizes Syria; U.S. senator sees Assad
Source: Reuters
(Adds Sen. Dodd, paragraphs 12-13) By Caren Bohan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush sharply criticized Syria on Wednesday despite calls for him to engage with the country over Iraq, while a Democratic senator defied administration wishes and met Syria's president. Bush, who has resisted pressure to hold talks with Syria, as well as Iran, as part of a new approach to ending violence in Iraq, issued a statement calling on Syria to "immediately free all political prisoners." Bush called on Syria to "cease its efforts to undermine Lebanese sovereignty" and disclose the whereabouts of Lebanese arrested during Syria's military occupation of Lebanon. Washington accuses Syria of allowing weapons and fighters to cross the border into Iraq, something Syria denies. Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, named to the Senate Intelligence Committee this week, said he saw an opening for dialogue in his meeting on Wednesday with President Bashar al-Assad. "He (Assad) stated that we in fact, have an interest, common interest, to stabilize Iraq. I think it is a crack in the door, and it is for discussions to continue," he said in a conference call from Jordan after meeting Assad in Damascus. Assad indicated a willingness to cooperate with the United States and the Iraqi army to close or control the border between the two countries, Nelson added. The official Syrian news agency, SANA, said Nelson and Assad discussed instability in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. "There was mutual interest to activate dialogue and putting in place mechanisms for cooperation," it said. The White House said members of Congress should not be going to Syria. "I think it is a real stretch to think that the Syrians don't know where we stand or what we think. We have made it clear and we will continue to make it clear," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. "What has not happened is the appropriate response by the Syrians in terms of their adventurism within the region, especially with regard to Lebanon, their continued support and housing of terrorist organizations," Snow said. Another Democratic senator announced he too was heading for Syria for a meeting with Assad next week. Connecticut's Chris Dodd said in a statement he originally planned to make the trip in April but at that time heeded a senior administration official's warnings not to go. This time, he said he was going despite State Department opposition because "it is clear that a policy of isolation has not altered Syria's behavior and the instability in the region is greater, not less, than it was eight months ago." CALL FOR DIRECT TALKS Last week, the Iraq Study Group of respected senior figures from both parties, led by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, urged the Bush administration to consider direct talks with Iran and Syria. The White House has so far rejected such contacts. Nelson said the State Department had sought to discourage him from meeting Assad "because their position is that they did not want to have any contact with Assad." "I replied that in light of the Baker-Hamilton study group report, that it was obvious that we were going to have contacts, and that remember what the goal was ... to stabilize Iraq," Nelson said. He had met the Syrian leader twice before. Political sources in Damascus said other U.S. senators would visit before year's end, including Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry and Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter. Next month, Democrats will take control of the U.S. Congress from Republicans. Nelson said he and Assad sharply disagreed about the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora as well as the pro-Syrian Hezbollah group and Hamas Palestinian movement.
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